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Fang Zhenhua gazed into the distance, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"Yes! This battle is over."
"For 66 days straight, you've suffered, Company Commander."
Fang Zhenhua is physically strong and is not seriously injured, but he lost a full 20 kilograms in those 66 days.
"What suffering am I enduring?"
Fang Zhenhua asked a question in return, then slammed his right foot heavily on Hill 14.
"We are a heroic company. Neither heaven nor man can defeat us. Anyone who dares to seize an inch of our land will pay a bloody price."
"A heroic company, a legacy of heroes, the flame of heroism will never be extinguished, and the martyrs will live on forever."
"We have truly turned this mountain into the enemy's tomb."
After retreating to the rear, Fang Zhenhua lay in bed and slept for a whole day, as if trying to make up for all the sleep he had missed in the past 66 days.
They fought bravely against the enemy during the war and were rewarded for their merits afterward.
The military region's awards were issued quickly, with the entire First Battalion being awarded a collective first-class merit, and the First Company, as the spearhead company of the main attack, also being awarded a collective first-class merit.
After that, the reward from headquarters came down.
The First Battalion was awarded the title of "Heroic Battalion of Kouling Mountain".
Fang Zhenhua's company was awarded the honorary title of "Koulingshan Steel Knife Company" by the military region and the title of "Combat Hero Company" by the headquarters for its outstanding combat achievements.
Fang Zhenhua himself was awarded the First-Class Merit and the Second-Class Hero Medal by the Party Committee of the Military Region and the Party Committee of the Military Region for his skillful command and success in overcoming the enemy.
Fang Zhenhua now possesses three Second-Class Heroic Model Medals, two First-Class Merit Medals, and one Second-Class Merit Medal.
Perhaps for him, the second-class merit award is the most precious.
Upon learning that the battle was over, Comrade Liu Fei could no longer contain her emotions and made a phone call to the battalion.
Fang Zhenhua was ordered to return to Beijing immediately.
Liu Fei wanted to check if her fiancé was alright.
Chapter 18 Return to the Capital
When Fang Zhenhua got off the train and exited the station, Liu Fei was already waiting at the exit.
The moment Liu Fei saw him, she ran over, grabbed his hands, and looked at him closely.
He finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Thankfully, I'm alright, but I've lost a lot of weight."
"What, you actually want something to happen to me?"
Upon hearing this, Comrade Liu Fei punched Xiao Fang directly.
"Pah, what nonsense."
Fang Zhenhua patted his chest. This woman was quite strong; she was indeed the daughter of a military family.
Liu Fei picked up his luggage and then said.
"Mom has already cooked dinner. She knew you were coming back today, so she specially cooked it herself to treat you well."
"Dad has heard about what happened to you on the battlefield. He speaks highly of you and says I made the right choice."
The fact that his future father-in-law and mother-in-law are so concerned suggests that Fang Zhenhua's performance on the battlefield has indeed brought them a lot of honor.
When Liu Zhongming was in power, many of his old comrades-in-arms spoke highly of the two sons-in-law of the Liu family.
The old man was beaming with joy.
That's impressive, truly impressive.
Otherwise, Liu's mother wouldn't have cooked for Fang Zhenhua herself.
Fang Zhenhua is Liu Fei's fiancé, and according to custom, it wouldn't be a problem for him to stay at Liu's house during his trip back to Beijing.
So the car drove to the ministry compound.
When I got off the bus, I ran into some senior members of the ministry.
"Feifei, is this your fiancé?"
"Aunt Chen, this is Zhenhua. He just came down from the front lines."
"I heard from your mother that Zhenhua distinguished himself on the battlefield?"
"They didn't achieve much, just a second-class hero. Oh, by the way, their company also received praise from headquarters and was awarded the title of Hero Company."
Throughout the journey, Fang Zhenhua acted like a celebrity, letting Liu Fei show off as she pleased, while he himself just kept smiling, his face almost frozen.
When they arrived at the Liu family's door, Fang Zhenhua asked, somewhat amused and exasperated.
"Comrade Liu Fei, you're being a bit vain! That's not a good thing."
Liu Fei rolled her eyes and corrected her.
"What do you know! There are countless people in this compound who laugh at me behind my back, saying I have bad taste, that I didn't marry a kid from the compound, but a poor country boy."
"Hmph! I've been holding back my anger for a long time. Now that you're back, am I not allowed to get my revenge?"
It turns out there is such a thing.
Looking at Liu Fei's expression, Fang Zhenhua could easily guess how much anger she had been holding in.
Fang Zhenhua didn't say much, he just held her hand and said...
“I brought all the medals back. When we go out tomorrow, I’ll hang them all up to make my wife proud.”
"Who's your wife? We're not even married yet!"
"It's coming soon."
Liu Fei smiled slightly, and Fang Zhenhua gripped her hand tightly.
The two locked eyes, and in this most heartwarming moment, a voice disrupted the atmosphere.
“These two kids are already at the doorstep, why aren’t they going inside?”
The young couple were caught red-handed by the mother-in-law. Fang Zhenhua, thick-skinned and sweet-talking, called out "Mom!"
Chen Qing walked down from the doorway, took Fang Zhenhua's hand, and was filled with emotion.
"You've gotten tanned and thinner; it must be tough on the front lines, right?"
"It's all in the past, and we won in the end."
"well said."
A deep male voice came from inside the house. Liu Zhongming walked out of the house and glanced at Fang Zhenhua.
"Although he has lost weight, the iron will of a soldier has come out. Soldiers must be tempered by the flames of war."
Others might not be able to convince you, but Liu Zhongming is different. He has climbed snow-capped mountains and walked across grasslands, truly having walked through the gates of hell.
Before Fang Zhenhua could speak, Chen Qing retorted.
"What? He's not your son-in-law anymore!"
After saying that, he pulled his youngest daughter and son-in-law into the house, leaving Liu Zhongming both amused and exasperated.
"This old woman."
Around noon, Chen Qing prepared a large table of dishes. At that moment, Liu Zhongming's secretary, Pei Yihong, happened to come to his house to report on his work.
As they were about to leave, Liu Zhongming said.
"Yihong, stay home for lunch."
"Sir, this is inappropriate."
"What's wrong with it? You're a grown man, stop dawdling."
Pei Yihong found Liu Zhongming's words extremely heartwarming, because Liu Zhongming truly treated him like a nephew.
Chen Qing ladled a large bowl of chicken soup for Fang Zhenhua, gave him both chicken legs, and then said...
"Drink more. Don't rush back to Beijing this time. Take good care of your health."
“Zhenhua, your mother is right. Don’t rush back this time. Take care of the things that need to be done first. You and Feifei are both 24 years old by Chinese reckoning. It’s not good to keep putting things off.”
Fang Zhenhua and Liu Fei both knew what their elders meant; they were pressuring them to get married.
Engagement leads to pressure to get married, and marriage leads to pressure to have children—this is an unchanging principle.
After dinner, Liu Zhongming went into his study. As the top leader, he had a lot of work to do!
As the prospective son-in-law, Fang Zhenhua was also fortunate enough to enter the study and further receive the influence of his superiors.
As Liu Zhongming looked at the document, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
"Are all these projects going to be cancelled?"
As a secretary, Pei Yihong perfectly demonstrated her role.
"The higher-ups are more interested in the electron collider, but the national budget is limited, so some projects have to take a backseat."
As a veteran revolutionary who has worked in the machinery industry for many years, Liu Zhongming can be considered an expert.
Looking at these projects that are about to be shut down, Liu Zhongming is really reluctant to let them go.
"I see."
After speaking, Liu Zhongming seemed to have thought of something, and he looked up at Fang Zhenhua sitting on the opposite sofa and asked.
"Zhenhua, I've encountered a problem. You're a young person with a quick mind, and I'd like to hear your thoughts."
Pei Yihong stood to the side, genuinely surprised. He didn't believe that the leader truly needed Fang Zhenhua to solve the problem.
The sole purpose, of course, is self-evident.
The leader is inspecting Fang Zhenhua.
It seems the leader thinks highly of this son-in-law.
"Dad, I'm afraid."
"I'm not asking you to give your opinion, but to hear your thoughts. Say whatever you want in front of me. Yihong, you talk to Zhenhua."
"Yes, Chief."
After Pei Yihong's concise explanation, Fang Zhenhua immediately understood the cause and effect of the matter.
As expected of the chief secretary, he speaks with a clear focus.
This matter has been discussed far too much online in my past life; everyone has their own version of the truth.
However, it is undeniable that particle physics is at the forefront of physics today.
Electron colliders are not only helpful for theoretical physics, but also for engineering applications, which can be easily found online.
Most importantly, the leaders above have already taken a liking to this area. What the people below should do is not try to change the leaders' minds, but to dance in chains and dance well in order to gain the leaders' favor.
What the leaders want is not opposition, but rather that you refrain from touching the electron collider while also protecting other projects and securing more funding for scientific research.
This is what the leader values most.
Why should a veteran like Liu Zhongming be promoted further? Isn't that the reason?
Seeing that Fang Zhenhua remained silent, Liu Zhongming felt somewhat disappointed, but then he thought about it and felt relieved. These were not things that Zhenhua could access, so he could understand.
However, what he didn't know was that Fang Zhenhua was thinking about how to better explain things to Liu Zhongming.
Based on information from his past life, Fang Zhenhua came up with a good idea.
"Dad, our project is currently lacking sufficient funding. The national treasury is limited. Since we can't cut spending, why don't we try to increase revenue?"
"Open source?" Liu Zhongming's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked.
"Do you have any idea?"
“Dad, I heard about it at the military academy. Right now, Saddam Hussein and Khomenya are locked in a fierce battle in the Middle East. Both countries are incredibly wealthy. I think there’s a lot that can be done here.”
"You mean?"
"The conflict between Iran and Iraq is extremely acute. From a military perspective, this war will not end for at least seven or eight years. Our country's opportunity has arrived. Now that we have good relations with the United States, it is a good time to make foreign exchange."